Prepared Meals in the Spotlight! August 20, 2007

 Let me start by saying I used to love cooking. I’m a single mom of one daughter and I have a mate. We all live together. Currently I’m going back to school taking online classes working on a Master’s Degree in Business Management. I’m a fulltime homemaker and recently started a home business. Cooking no longer fits my hected schedule so I have been ordering prepared meals from a few different companies. These are not like those traditional frozen dinners in your local grocer. These are gourmet dinners prepared by chefs that can be customized with your favorite items and different portions.  This is very convienient for me during the week and saves me lots of time and money. You may have heard of some of these companies before. Recently I constructed a website with a lot of popular items and  some of my favorites. You can visit  my  One Stop Lunch & Dinner Spot

or check out some of my favorite places to order from. If you’re dieting don’t worry I have you covered. My site as well as the other sites I will list, offer several low carb and low fat items to choose from as well as healthy snacks and desserts. Always check back regularly I will be adding products daily.

My Favorite! Delightful Deliveries
 If you’re not familiar with Delightful Deliveries, you’ll want to make it your business to do so! This is a unique site that offers the best of the best treats, gifts, prepared meals, gift baskets and much more. I love that place! But you don’t have to take my word for it, just click the link above and be dazzled! Oh yeah they have the PERFECT Valentine’s Day Gift’s and sales going on so don’t miss out on that. A special gourmet dinner delivered is sure to spice things up a bit.  

Gourmet Prepared Meals at Home Bistro 

Delicious Low Carb Meals at Home Bistro

New Food/Cooking Contests! August 9, 2007

Most of these contests have very good prizes, some up to $1,000,000 in cash for the grand prize winner. If you like to cook, and have an exceptional recipe, why not enter?

Click Here for Contests with recent expired deadlines

• Click on the name of the Contest to enter or for more information

• Harmony Sweets Recipe Contests – Ongoing Monthly Contest
  Various delicious prizes each month.

• Bays Quarterly Recipe Contest – Quarterly Recipe Contest
  Enter Bays Quarterly Recipe Contest and you could win a $500 gift certificate to Williams-Sonoma.
  

• Heinz Top This TV Challenge – Deadline: August 6, 2007
  Heinz “Top This” TV contest challenges consumers to create the next great Heinz Ketchup TV commercial
  Hungry for fame? For the first time, Heinz is spinning the bottle on consumers and giving them a chance to create their own TV commercials that celebrate their love affair with the thick, rich taste of America’s favorite ketchup.
  Consumers may submit their 30-second TV commercials on TopThisTV.com
  Prize: One grand prize winner will receive $57,000 (and a well-earned place in the 130-year history of a bona fide cultural icon), when the winning commercial airs on national TV in September. Additionally, four runner-up ads will air on national TV and the creators will each receive $5,700.
  

• I Love Walnuts! Recipe Contest – Deadline: August 10, 2007
  Do you love walnuts? Do you have a favorite family recipe with walnuts that everyone loves? If so, then it’s time for you to enter the “I LOVE Walnuts!” Recipe Contest.
  The “I LOVE Walnuts!” Recipe Contest is a national contest in search of the best walnut recipes in the United States. The California Walnut industry has partnered with Ellie Krieger, registered dietitian and celebrity food star, to search for the best walnut recipes and help you make your favorite dishes healthier. Recipes must contain at least 1 tablespoon of walnuts per serving.
  There will be one (1) Grand Prize and five (5) Runners-Up Prizes awarded during the “I LOVE Walnuts!” Recipe Contest. In addition, there will be four (4) monthly prize drawings throughout the contest (24 randomly selected winners in all). Contestants who enter multiple recipes have a chance of winning multiple prizes.
  Grand Prize: An all-expenses paid trip to New York City for two people to enjoy lunch with Ellie Krieger as well as a personal consulting session with Ellie.
  Five (5) Runners-Up Prizes: “I LOVE Walnuts!” Custom KitchenAid® Mixer
  Twenty-four (24) randomly selected winners will be awarded prizes throughout the contest.
  

• Ultimate Cranberry Recipe Contest – Deadline: August 23, 2007
  For Foodservice Professionals only.
  Grab your oven mitts and get your mixers ready. Ocean Spray is looking for the most crantastic recipe featuring Ocean Spray cranberries, Craisins, sauce or juice.
  Food recipes must use a minimum of 1 1/2 cups of any Ocean Spray product and yield 12 servings. Beverage recipes must use a minimum of 1 1/2 ounces of Ocean Spray product and yield 1 serving. All recipes must be in English and may represent any of the following: beverages, salads, entrees, or desserts.
  Four Finalists will be chosen, and the four Finalist entries will be prepared at the Grand Prize Event by the Finalists, and judged by a qualified panel of judges.
  Finalist Prize (4): A 3 day/ 2 night trip for finalist to New York to attend the Grand Prize Event.
  Grand Prize (1): $25,000 awarded in the form of a check made payable to the winner or a $25,000 donation to a charity of their choice on behalf of the winner. Prize includes 2 day/2 night trip for winner to the IFEC annual conference in Austin, Texas November 2007. Trip consists of coach class round-trip air transportation from an airport near the winner’s residence to Austin, Texas, 2-nights hotel accommodations, and $125 per day stipend.
  

• Food Loves French’s Love Story Contest – Deadline: August 24, 2007
  Did you see French’s Mustard swoop-in to save a ham sandwich from drowning in a river of mayonnaise? Do you have the inside scoop on the love affair between French’s Mustard and the hotdog? Does your food love French’s Mustard so much that it is willing to go on national TV and confess its undying love? Tell us your Food Loves French’s Love story in 200 words or less for a chance to win.
  The grand prize winner will have their winning entry turned into an animated webisode that will be posted on www.FoodLovesFrenchs.tv and will receive a $2,000 American Express Gift Check. One People’s Choice Award winner will receive a $2,000 American Express Gift Check. Each of the remaining eight semi-finalists will receive a $500 American Express Gift Check. (See official rules for more details on this contest).
  

• The Great Chili/Chowder Cook-Off Challenge: August 25, 2007
  Lebanon, Connecticut
  People’s Choice Award voted by attendees. A panel of distinguished judges will award top prizes.
  Take Home the top trophy and Earn “The Bragging Rights” Along with 2 Round Trip Air Line Tickets anywhere in the Continental US.
  Prizes will be awarded for both competions
  

• “Fiesta Time” Chef Recipe Contest – Deadline: August 31, 2007
  If you’re a chef or sous chef employed in a restaurant or other foodservice operation in the U.S., you’re eligible to enter.
  Here’s your chance to win up to $2,000! Just create an original recipe using Avocados from Mexico as a key ingredient.
  First Prize:  $2,000
  Second Prize:  $1,500
  Third Prize:  $1,000
  

• Sizzlin’ Summer Sandwich Search Recipe Contest – Deadline: Aug 31, 2007
  If you have an original recipe using any variety of Kretschmar products that’s a favorite with your family, enter the Kretschmar Sizzlin’ Summer Sandwich Search Recipe Contest. Entries must be the original recipe of the contestant and must contain at least one Kretschmar product – any variety. Judge’s will be looking for the very best recipe in these categories: originality (30%), taste (30%), appearance (30%) and ease of preparation (10%).
  PRIZES:
  1 Grand Prize. $5000 cash prize which may be used towards the purchase of a tropical vacation of his/her choice.
  9 First Place Winners will receive a $250.00 cash prize plus Kretschmar Deli Products for one year in the form of twelve (12) Free product coupons ($5.00 maximum value each.)
  

• 2007 Bundts® Across America Recipe Contest – Deadline: Sept 1, 2007
  Nordic Ware – maker of the iconic pan – is hosting it second-annual national recipe contest. Bakers must create recipes for one of the following popular holidays: Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Independence Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas. 10 finalists will be invited to participate in the national bakeoff contest to be held in San Francisco in October where one grand prize winner will be selected from those 10 finalists.
  Prizes:
  The ten finalists will be treated to a fun-filled expense paid weekend in San Francisco, which will include participating for the Grand Prize at the bake-off being held at the famous San Francisco Baking Institute. The 10 finalists will also receive a $500 Nordic Ware gift certificate and the grand prize winner of the “2007 Bundts Across America” will receive $10,000 in cash!
  

• Matcha Tea Recipe Contest – Deadline: September 1, 2007
  Are you making healthy smoothies, decadent desserts or other creative dishes? You are invited to enter your favorite Matcha recipe in our “It’s so good to be Green” recipe contest.
  To participate send us your best original recipe in one of these four categories. Only one entry per person per category will be allowed.
  Beverages; Main dishes; Soups and Sides; Desserts
  Prizes: One winner from each of the four categories will be awarded $75 each. A fifth overall grand prize winner will win $100.
  

• BiProUSA.com Recipe Contest – Deadline: September 1, 2007
  BiPro USA is looking for original recipes that use BiPro Whey Protein Isolate in the following categories: Smoothies, Savory Entrées and Side Dishes, Desserts, and Miscellaneous. A prize will be awarded to the winner of each category. A grand prize will be given to one of these category winners (in addition to the category prize) as the “Best Use of BiPro” award. All households with an entrant will receive one small gift.
  

• Pudding Hollow Pudding Contest – Deadline: September 10, 2007
  originates in Hawley, Massachusetts, USA
  This charity food contest invites you to vie for the title of “Pudding Head” in true Yankee fashion. Any original recipe you call a pudding is eligible for entry. This is a magical event with terrific prizes. The entry fee goes to help the historical society of Hawley, Massachusetts, create a community center.
  

• 3rd annual Tillamook Macaroni & Cheese Recipe Contest
  Deadline varies, depending on location, from Aug 26 – Sept 16
  We invite you to submit your three favorite macaroni and cheese recipes for the chance to win $5,000! See website for details.
  Three finalists in each location will be chosen based on unique use of ingredients, taste and overall creativity. At each cook-off, finalists will prepare their macaroni and cheese recipes from scratch. Local celebrity judges and culinary experts will judge the three dishes to declare a regional winner. The winner will receive $1,000 in cash, 25 lbs. of Tillamook® cheese, plus other various prizes. They also will earn the right to compete in the grand finale cook-off in Portland, OR for the title of “the Big Cheese” and $5,000 in cash.
  

• Simply Manischewitz® Cook-Off Competition – Deadline: Sept 21, 2007
  Find your favorite kosher entreé recipe that can be made in under 1 hour and submit it.
  Manischewitz invites you to submit an original easy-to-make Kosher recipe. If you are selected as a Semi-Finalist, you will be asked to prepare the recipe you submitted at your choice of one of three Semi-Finalist cook-off locations (San Francisco, OR Chicago OR Philadelphia). Ten Semi-Finalists per cook-off location will be selected to participate at each cook-off (total: thirty Semi-Finalists). Two entrants at each Semi-Finalist cook-off will be designated as Finalists who will then compete for the Grand Prize at the New York City final event (6 Finalists).
  PRIZES:
  1 Grand Prize: State-of-the-art GE Profile™ Stainless Steel Kitchen Appliances ($17,000), Sponsor-selected Manischewitz products($2,000.00), and a $5,000.00 check from Manischewitz.
  6 Finalist Prizes (2 from each Semi-Finalist cook-off) – A 2-day/1-night trip for Finalist in February 2008 to New York City to compete in the Finalist cook-off, $100 American Express Gift Certificate, plus Sponsor selected Manischewitz products (ARV $2,000 per Finalist Prize.).
  30 Semi-Finalist Prizes (10 from each of the 3 cook-off locations) – Sponsor-selected Manischewitz products. (ARV $50.00 ea.).
  

• Chop On The Block Get Sizzling Summer Recipe Contest -
  Deadline: September 30, 2007
  Fire up your grill and share your favorite summer recipe with us! You’ll get a 10% OFF coupon toward any purchase at Chop on the Block and could win one of these gourmet tools from Shun and Peugeot:
  First Prize: Shun Ken Onion 8-inch Chef’s Knife and Bamboo Stand
  Second Prize: Shun Classic 9-inch Offset Bread Knife
  Third Prize: Set of Peugeot Chocolate Fidji Salt and Pepper mills
  Fourth Prize: Set of Peugeot Toul Salt and Pepper mills
  

• Rías Baixas Albariño Recipe Contest – Deadline: October 31, 2007
  What do samosas, spanakopita, and sushi all have in common? Each dish is a perfect match with Rías Baixas Albariño, the refreshing and delicious white wine from northwestern Spain. Amateur cooks across the country are invited to put their culinary chops and Albariño’s food-friendliness to the test by submitting their favorite original recipe for this year’s wine and food pairing contest.
  Entries must be your original recipes that is complemented and enhanced when served with a Rías Baixas Albariño wine.
  Three winning recipes will be selected by the judging panel.
  Prizes: The three winners of the recipe contest will have their recipes published on www.riasbaixaswines.com and will each receive a case of Rías Baixas Albariño wines. One grand prize winner will also receive a gift card from Williams-Sonoma valued at $1000.00.
  

• Mealstogether.com Kids’ Cook-Off Recipe Contest – Deadline: October 31
  Submit a recipe you and your kids like to make together – for a chance to win one of FIVE $5,000 college scholarships or hundreds of other prizes.
  The entry must include valid UPC codes from any two of the participating products; Kingsford® Charcoal, KC Masterpiece® Sauce, Hidden Valley® Dressing, GLAD® Products, and Fresh Express® Salad (residents of MD, VT and NJ may omit UPC codes).
  PRIZES:
  (5) Grand Prizes: $5,000 towards a College Scholarship
  Four Hundred (400) First Prizes: A cookout carryall
  

• The Hot Pepper Awards – Deadline: November 15, 2007
  We are looking for the best! This is all about flavor, and yes, heat, but the hottest does not mean the best. We are looking for great flavor. We won’t judge by the label either. Heck, no label is okay too.
  Entries must be produced in accordance with safe canning and sealing procedures, and must be produced in a certified commercial kitchen. They do not need to be commercially available, we welcome your new inventions, but we cannot accept home made creations, sorry. If possible, they should also include tamper-proof seals (example: shrink seals, pop tops, etc.) where applicable.
  Best Hot Sauce; 1st, 2nd & 3rd place awards
  Best BBQ Sauce; 1st, 2nd & 3rd place awards
  Best Salsa; 1st, 2nd & 3rd place awards
  Best Dry Spice Mixture; 1st, 2nd & 3rd place awards
  Best Hot Snack; 1st, 2nd & 3rd place awards
  Best Extreme Product; 1st, 2nd & 3rd place awards
  Wacky Award
  Winners will receive a handsome trophy or certificate. Plus, we will notify our partner hotsauce.com of the award and recommend they carry your product (no guarantees).
  All 1st Place winners of The Hot Pepper receive: Your product image will be featured On The Homepage of TheHotPepper.com as an award winner until next year’s winners are announced. Each image will link to your website or can link directly to the product.
  All 2nd Place winners receive: 1 Chilli Farm Enthusiast Kit from The Great Chilli Farm.
  All 3rd Place winners receive: 1 Peppermania gift card.
  

• 1st International Albacore Tuna Recipe Competition – Deadline: November 30, 2007
  British Columbia’s Albacore Tuna Industry is pleased to announce the official public launch of its 1st International Albacore Tuna Recipe Competition. This is a free international competition open to absolutely everyone.
  Main Categories:
  • The Perfect Bc-Can Albacore Tuna Entrée
  • The Perfect Bc-Can Albacore Tuna Appetizer
  • The Perfect Bc-Can Albacore Tuna International Recipe
  • The Perfect Bc-Can Albacore Tuna “Health Check™” Recipe
  • The Perfect Bc-Can Albacore Tuna Tuna Sandwich
  • Children’s Competition- The Perfect Tuna Sandwich
  Special Categories:
  Special Prize will be awarded to the overall winning entrée submitted by a “Chef in Training”
  Cash Prizes:
  • CDN$300 — The Perfect Bc-Can Albacore Tuna Entrée
  • CDN$300 — The Perfect Bc-Can Albacore Tuna Appetizer
  • CDN$300 — The Perfect Bc-Can Albacore Tuna International Recipe
  • CDN$300 — The Perfect Bc-Can Albacore Tuna “health Check™” Recipe
  • CDN$300 — The Perfect Bc-Can Albacore Tuna Sandwich Recipe
  • Children’s Recipe- The Perfect Tuna Sandwich
  o 1st Prize CDN$300 2nd Prize CDN$200 3rd Prize $100
  o (Payable to School Parent Advisory Committee or School)
  • $1,000 Top Recipe submitted by a “Chef In Training” Registered at a recognized school program.
  

• United States Of Arugula Seasonal Cooking Contest – Deadline: Dec 7, 2007
  Win a Box of Books from Broadway Books. This is a contest for the best recipe for a main course meal using seasonal ingredients. You may enter as many times as you like, but only one entry per email. All recipes become the property of In Mamas Kitchen (IMK) and will not be returned. The contest will be judged by IMK on the basis of taste, appearance, imagination and overall culinary appeal of the recipe, as well as organization and clarity of the materials submitted.
  Prize: One winner will receive first prize package of eight books.
  Nine Runners-up will receive one copy each of The United States of Arugula
  

• Better Recipes 2007 Annual Recipes Contest – Deadline: December 20, 2007
  Put on your chef’s hat for a chance to win $1,000! Everyone has created their own original recipes — now we want to see them. Provide us with your best original recipes in any category and you could win! 10 Recipes will be rewarded – 1 Grand Prize Winner will receive $1,000 and 9 Finalists will receive $100.
  

• Peanut Advisory Board Foodservice Recipe Contest, Deadline: Dec 31, 2007
  The contest is open to any foodservice operator, owner, chef, employee, educator or student 18 years or older.
  Recipes must be original and previously unpublished. Each recipe must use at least 1/3 cup peanuts and/or peanut butter as an ingredient. A recipe can be entered in any of the 4 categories: Appetizer/Snack; Main Dish; Salad/Side Dish; Dessert.
  Recipes will be judged on the basis of: taste/texture (50%); visual presentation/appearance (30%); originality (20%)
  Prizes: One grand prize will be selected for a cash prize of $2,500.
  One first prize of $1,000 will be awarded in each of the following 4 categories:
  Appetizer/Snack; Main Dish; Salad/Side Dish; Dessert
  

Williams Great American Recipe Contest – Deadline: May 1, 2008
Three Categories!
Chili – That all-time American favorite!
What’s for Dinner? Your answer to the mealtime dilemma!
Food Kids Love – New category just for kids ages 8-14
Grand Prize – $1000.00; First Prize – $500.00, Second Prize – $250.00, Third Prize – $100.00
(One each of the listed monetary prizes will be awarded in each category.)
Honorable Mention – Samples of products supplied by Williams Foods with approximate retail value of $20.00. (Five Honorable Mention prizes will be awarded in each category.)

The Copy Cat Cookbook on Sale! August 5, 2007

The Copy Cat Cookbook has been selling like crazy this week, so I just wanted to re-inform everyone that it is still on sale for 19.99 Valid Until Midnight August 8th, 2007  and usually sells for 29.99. So that’s a whopping 10.00 off. I love this cookbook and it has been updated since I last purchased mine. You now get 3 bonuses which are the Holiday, Crock-pot, and Cookie Cookbooks along with Copy Cat #2 which features an additional 424 recipes from your favorite restaurants. What a steal. I hope you enjoy!

Justin Timberlake: Southern Hospitality August 4, 2007

Justin’s Grandma Pecan Pie Recipe

Celebrity-owned restaurants have always been popular; however, they’re singing a new tune now that musicians are in on the act. Justin Timberlake brought ‘Sexy Back’ last summer and this year he’s bringing southern cooking to New York’s Upper East Side with his new restaurant, Southern Hospitality. The menu features all his favorite Memphis, Tenn., home-cooked meals, including pulled pork, macaroni & cheese, his grandmother’s pecan pie and maybe even a tasty glimpse of the heartthrob, himself.

One spin of FutureSex/LoveSounds and it’s hard to believe that Justin Timberlake was ever a boy-band barnstormer–no modern-day male artist beats him when it comes to single-minded self assurance or suavity. “SexyBack,” the inescapable summer sizzler of a first single off this short and thrillingly unwholesome disc, makes that clear on its own: If there was ever any question about whether sexy was in need of reviving–a doubtful proposition at best, given the sheer volume of JT’s gyrating counterparts–he lays it to rest instantly over a small but insistent Timbaland-concocted beat. On that track, Timberlake’s appeal is his sweet but newly thuggish-sounding voice–here’s a good kid gone bad, and he’s determined to convince us of it not only by tossing a few well-timed mother****ers our way but also with such lyrics as “I’ll let you whip me if I misbehave.” The rest of FutureSex will feel familiar to anyone who picked up 2002’s brilliantly funk-flecked Justified: “Love Stoned/I Think She Knows Me,” shifts from Michael Jackson-esque paranoid trilling to pulsating guitar rock; “Chop Me Up,” a collaboration with Three 6 Mafia and Timbaland, gives up the grit rap-style but still manages to recall both Prince and Stevie Wonder; “My Love,” with T.I., mines classic Timberlake territory with meltaway lyrics like “I can see us holding hands walking on the beach/Our clothes in the sand”; and the straight-up but groovy lament “Losing My Way” asks, searchingly, what may be the silliest question a squeal-inducing pop star has ever posed: “Can anybody out there feel me?” Rest assured, JT: we feel every past-, present-, and future-sexy verse. –Tammy La Gorce

Wow! A Diet Based on The Bible…. August 3, 2007

The New York Times best-selling Maker’s Diet is a revolutionary, holistic approach to health and weight loss. And now this biblically based and scientifically proven diet is online! The complete online program incorporates 14 tools, support from other members, answers from Jordan, advice from dietitians, a daily schedule, and so much more. Once we heard about this one, we had to do some research.

Stop eating junk, diet, processed, and fast food! Learn how to eat like your ancestors did – the way God intended. Free health profile.

If you want to get to know more about the diet you can also read his book titled the Maker’s Diet.  This is a great book on health and nutrition. There is so much information in there, you have to read it at least twice to remember and implement all the great advice. A must-have for anyone wanting to learn about health and nutrition.

While I do not intend to follow all of his suggestions, like eating dirt! I certainly plan to implement some of the strategies,, mainly the types of foods to eat and avoid and types of appropriate exercise.

Rubin has been criticized for this and that being that he doesn’t have any type of medical degree but his book remains a bestseller over at Amazon and we actually think it’s practical along with the thousands of satisfied customer’s who bought the book. You can read a few sample pages from the book as well as all the feedback that has been left. The book is only $2.65 NEW! So that’s a steal, here is the link Maker’s Diet Book (Hardback), by Jordan Rubin Garden of LIfe